Egg-tester.



W. HUMPHREY.

EGG TESTER.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 13, 1914.

Patented Dec. 26, 1916.

mil/Au Humjrkrey,

m lliam WILLIAM HUMPI-IREY, OF AUBURN, NEBRASKA.

EGG-TESTER.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Dec. 26, 1916.

Application filed July 13, 1914. Serial No. 850,654.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, WILLIAM HUMPi-IREY, a citizen of the United States, residing at Auburn, in the county of Nemaha and State of Nebraska, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Egg-Testers; and

V the purpose of lgmtmg an electric light to I do declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

My invention relates to improvements in eggtesters and has for its object to improve upon devices of this character to such an extent as to provide an extremely simple device which may easily be transported from place to place and which will readily perform the functions for which it is designed.

In carrying out the above end, asecondary object of the invention is to provide an improved form of circuit closer, an electric light being employed in the device.

A. further object is to position and construct a perforated sheet in such a manner as to prevent the possibility of breaking the eggs being tested.

With these and minor objects in view, the invention resides in certain novel features of construction, and combination herein described and claimed and-shown in the drawings wherein Figure 1 is a front elevation of an egg tester constructed in accordance with my invention; Fig. 2 is a horizontal section taken on the line 2-2 of Fig; 1; Fig. 3 is a vertical transverse section taken on the line 33 of Fig. 1.

In the embodiment illustrated in the accompanying drawings I have shown a rectangular casing or carrier 1 whose upper end is closed by a hinged top 2, a suitable catch 3 being employed for retaining the same in closed position. The cover 2 is preferably provided with a handle 4 by means of which the entire carrier may be transported from place to place and the exposed corners of said cover and the casing or carrier proper are preferably guarded as indicated at 5 for obvious reasons.

Supported upon suitable cleats 6 resting upon the bottom of the casing 1, is a trans verse bar 7 above which a longitudinal bar 8 extends, the latter having its opposite ends secured to the end walls of the casing 1 While the bar 7 is preferably secured at its opposite ends adjacent the side walls of said casing. By this formation, two pairs of rectangular pockets are formed, said pockets being located in the four corners of the casing and being designed to receive a number of dry batteries 9 which are employed for I a horizontally elongated opening or slot 10 in rear of which a substantially funnel shaped reflector 11 is secured, the forward enlarged end of said reflector being preferably provided with an outwardly projecting flange 12 which is here shown as secured at 13 to said front wall of the casing adjacent the edge of the opening 10. The rear contracted portion of the funnel shaped re-' flector 11 is provided with a tubular extension 14 which is here shown as being internally threaded for the reception of a threaded plug 15 carrying an electric light 16 on its forward end, said light being located in an electric circuit generated by the batteries 9 and in which a switch mechanism to be described is located.

Having its horizontal arm secured tothe forward upper portion of the bar 7 by means of a binding post 18, is an L-shaped switch member whose upright arm 19 terminates substantially at the center of the opening 10, said arm rising through an opening 20 formed in the under side of the reflector 11. The arm or tongue 19 is adapted to coact with a second switch member here shown in the form of an inwardly extending bolt 21 whose head 22 bears againstthe outer side of a flexible rectangular sheet 23 which is secured'to'the outer, face of the front wall of the casing 1 by any suitable means, a nut 241 being threaded upon the inner end portion of said bolt and bearing against the inner side of the sheet 23 while the lower end of a flexible switch tongue 25 is loosely mounted on said bolt 21 between the nut 24 and a second nut 26 thereon, said tongue rising from the bolt and being secured by a binding post 27 to the forward side of the casing directly above the opening 10.

Extending from the binding post 18 to one terminal of the 'light 16, is a current conducting wire 28 while leading from the opposite terminal of said light is a second wire 29 which leads to one terminal of one battery 9, all of said batteries being eleotri;

with the binding post 27. It will, therefore, be seen that when the flexible sheet 23 is forced inwardly, the extreme inner end of the bolt 21 will be caused to contact with the armor finger 19, thereby completing the electric circuit to ignite the light 16.. As i most clearly seen in Figs. 1 and 2, the sheet 23 is provided with a pair of egg receiving openings 32, one being located on each side I ignite the light 16 whose rays are now intenof the head 22 as clearly seen.v When the device is in operation, the eggs to be tested are partially inserted into the openings 32 and the sheet 23 is thereby forced inwardly to cause the bolt 21' to contact with the tongue 19 thereby completing the circuit to sified by the reflector 11, thereby allowing metal thereby diminishing the possibility of the egg being cracked or broken and also "lessening all liability to jar the same, since the sheet 23 is formed of flexible material the contents of the egg shell to be readily viewed. During this testing operation, it will be noted that no part of the egg touches preferably though not necessarily leather which will have no injurious effects upon the eggs.

I am aware that numerous devices of the general character herein described have been heretofore patented in which circuit closers are employed for the purpose of igniting an electric globe within a casing andI am likewise aware of the fact that flexible sheets hav ng openings for the reception of the eggs are also old in the art, but the gist of my present invention hes 1n the provision "of the flexible'sheet in connection with the circuit closer, since in this connectlon pressure must be exerted upon the egg to complete the electric circui-t,-it therefore becoming extremely expedient to have a flexible egg receiving sheet.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim is:

1. An egg tester comprising a casing having an opening in its front side and an electric light in rear of said opening, a flexible sheet secured over said opening and having one or more egg receiving apertures, a spring finger secured at one end to, the casing above the opening by means of a binding post, a contact bolt passing through the center of the sheet and through the free end of said spring finger, nuts on said bolt on opposite sides of said finger, a contactfinger in rear of said bolt and having a binding post, a.

battery in the casing, and wiring from said battery to the two binding posts.

2. An egg tester comprising a casing having an opening in its front side, a reflector secured to said front side in rear of said...

opening, an electric light carried by said reflector, a flexible sheet secured over said opening and having one or more egg receiving apertures, a spring finger secured at one end to the front of the casing above the" opening thereof by means of a binding post,

a contact bolt passing through the center of the flexible sheet and through the other end of saidspring finger, nuts threaded on said bolt on opposite sides of said finger, a

right-angular contact finger whose vertical portion rises through the lower. side of the reflector and is disposed in rear of the contact bolt, a binding post on the horizontal portion of said contact finger, a pair of crossed horizontal bars in the lower end of the casing and forming pockets for a plurality of batteries, said contact finger being secured to one of said bars, batteries in the aforesaid pockets, and wiring from said-* batteries to the two binding posts.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand in presence of two subscribing witnesses.

WILLIAM HUMPHRE Y. Witnesses B. C. HOWE, E. T. AUBY.

Copies 01' this patent may be'obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, 1

Washington, D. 0. 

